The signing of two players intimate with the scales of justice provoked questions about Rafa’s judgement among some. The purchase of Jermaine Pennant and Craig Bellamy may have been controversial, but they provide two things that Rafa loves. They bring balance and possibilities to the squad.

Rafa obsesses about possiblities - he mentions them nearly as frequently as furniture in his press interviews. A strong squad gives him the tactitcal possibilities to outwit other managers on the pitch. But the squad has to be balanced. It must have balance between the left and right hand sides; between composure on the ball and pace to explode past the opposition; and between defence and attack.

Looking at last season it was clear that when Steven Gerrard played centrally we looked weak on the right, allowing the opposition to double up on our stronger left. Signing Pennant immediately solves this issue.

We were also short of effective pace (as opposed to Cissé pace). Both Bellamy and Pennant bring this to Rafa’s possibilities party. They’re signings that have added value. There may be better individual players out there, but would they as successfully improve Liverpool’s balance of possibilities?

This entry was posted on Monday, July 31st, 2006 at 12:57 pm and is filed under Managers, Players. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.